Message from @Doctor Anon
Discord ID: 485980625841422339
@Da_Fish no
Free trade is vital to the free market
Free Trade within a country
A country cannot provide everything by itself
international trade has always existed for that purpose
I feel like the best system would be if every large nation had a free market, with cross-border trade being regulated but still an important aspect of the economy
A country should always move to being able to sustain itself without needing to import goods needed for survival
Tariffs suck
for everyone involved
We have many examples of failed tariffing in the US
A country should not need to import goods needs to survive
I'm talking about luxury resources
Im not talking about luxury bullshit
that people __want__ not __need__
We aren't algeria
we can sustain americans on american crops
which is why we import so little food
unless it doesnt grow in our climate
Im sure you can agree a country should produce it's own steel, cars, minerals, and most other goods
Like Bananas
Let the market decide
@Deleted User why are you a staff
lower prices are more important
@Da_Fish uh no
Lower prices are not more important
Protectionism sacrifices the benefits of comparative advantage for BOTH countries, but it encourages localized production of goods, which is essential if you ever go to war, because once you go to war you can't use the other country's industrial capacity anymore.
true
however
In the case of war USA would be fine
we are the breadbasket of the world
@Da_Fish the hidden benefit of protection is that when companies are producing locally, it becomes MUCH easier for independent citizens to compete in the marketplace, because they can work for themselves for free, whereas larger companies must pay relatively high wages. So while we might be theoretically "poorer" by not producing in the cheapest way across country lines, the protection creates a situation in which the protected market has more competition and relative equality
I'm talking about things that aren't basic human needs
Protectionism has a long history of failure in the USA
It almost caused a civil war
during the nullification crisis
Because they did it in the most idiotic way possible
the Smoot-Hawley tariff act further collapsed the economy
alright I got my 8values
during the depression
They didnt make sure they already had localized production first, and then implement tariffs